


Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

by Symmetramain



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edelgard - Freeform, Edelgard doesn’t give a damn, Ferdinand - Freeform, Ferdinand is insecure, Oneshot, byleth - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symmetramain/pseuds/Symmetramain
Summary: Ferdinand knows he’s inferior to her, that is plain to see. But when she points her blade at the church, Ferdinand must rise against her, and though she may not consider him a threat, he knows better then to underestimate a nobleman of house Aegir.
Kudos: 6





	Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

Ferdinand Von Aegir can be described as a great many things. He’s a promising young noble, an excellent student at the prestigious officers academy, a model leader, a caring friend, an amazing lance specialist and cavalry unit, and a faithful believer in the goddess and the Church of Seiros. On paper, he scored nearly perfect in terms of nobility, and he knew it well. 

The only issue is that the only scale that really matters to him is his own, and to him, he’s inadequate. When a professor looked at the Black Eagle students, they did not see his late night study sessions, or his impressive knowledge on weaponry, or his many hours of training with the peofessor. No, they only see Edelgard Von Hresvelg, the only noble in the empire who would forever outrank him until he died. 

If Ferdinand was considered a good noble, then Edelgard was perfect. She woke up two hours before he did, and went to bed two hours later. Her skill with an axe far eclipsed his skill with a lance, and the way she carried herself was a sight to behold. Ferdinand  _ appeared  _ confident, but Edelgard  _ was  _ confident, and he was aware of the difference. 

  
  


Professor Byleth seemed to know the exact skill of each of his students, and Ferdinand had overheard him say that Edelgard was his strongest, and best student by far. Those were his exact words. Ferdinand knew this because those words were permanently ingrained into his mind, constantly playing over and over. 

  
  


Even now, in the middle of a lecture, Ferdinand found himself paying more attention to how inferior to her he was instead of what professor Byleth was speaking about. Shaking his head, he steeled himself and shifted his focus back onto his professor. 

“Good reflexes are paramount when on the battlefield,” Byleth explained as he turned his back to his students. “They can be the difference between life or death, and so one must always be ready for an attack. An example of good reactions would be something like this.”

Before Ferdinand could process what his professor was implying, Byleth whirled around with a speed he didn’t know the man had and chucked some sort of object straight at Edelgard. 

“Edelgard, think fast!” Byleth commanded as he threw the mystery object at her, his face still blank as usual. 

Ferdinand looked to the future empress, and saw that she caught the object between two fingers right before it hit her in the face. She inhaled slightly at the shock, but her face was calm and concentrated. She was in complete control. 

Hubert slammed his hands on his desk and shot up with speed matching his professors, his eyes thinning into murderous slits as he glared at his professor with enough malice to make a flower wilt. 

“Professor! What is the meaning of this!” Hubert hissed out, clearly still in shock. 

“Peace, Hubert. It was only a wet sponge. Completely harmless.” 

True to his word, Ferdinand could see that he had indeed chucked a wet sponge at the future Empress. 

“Edelgard, excellent work. I had full confidence that you’d possess the reflexes necessary for my sudden demonstration, and you did not disappoint. The rest of the class would do well to follow your example” Byleth said as he turned to his most prestigious student. Edelgard simply bowed slightly from her position and handed the sponge back to him as he came to retrieve it. 

Ferdinand couldn’t help but reflect upon what had happened. Byleth had chosen her to demonstrate, he had  _ trusted  _ her. Ferdinand probably wasn’t even an option in his mind. He was irrelevant, a non factor in the equation. 

He didn’t hear what happened after Byleth retrieved his sponge. He heard Lindhart wake up and Byleth chastise him, but beyond that he didn’t care to listen. His eyes were locked onto the back of Edelgard’s head, trying to see through her, to see through the facade of the perfect princess. But he couldn’t, for there was no act. Either that, or she was a better actress then he was a skeptic, which was still another victory for her. 

“It can’t stay like this, I won’t allow it!” Ferdinand thought to himself. “I am Ferdinand Von Aegir, next in line to become the Duke of house Aegir. I can’t let such a gap in skill exist between me and my Empress!” 

Ferdinand spent the rest of the school year improving himself. He trained, he studied and he  _ practiced.  _ He practiced everything, from how to thrust a lance to how to sit as properly as possible when negotiating over tea. He was to be more then just a model noble. He wanted to be  _ the  _ model noble, the one Edelgard looked at with wishful eyes hidden behind faked pride. 

He’d have his match, and he was going to win it. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


“Edelgard! How could you act in such a manner!?” Ferdinand cried, smoke and heat filling hsi lungs as he pushed past army troops amidst the chaos of the battle. Edelgard was attacking Garreg Mach, she was pointing her blade at the heavens and threatening to throw Foldan into chaos. 

Could she not see how foolish this was, how badly this would harm the Empire. A war so soon after Bridgid would bleed the Empire of its resources, and send it into a recession. Lives would be lost to both battle and to starvation. It was maddening. 

Ferdinand spurred his horse into action, galloping bravely through the enemy as he cut down any who stood in his path. Sylvain and some of the mounted knights rode next to him atop their own horses, attempting to cut straight through the enemy force and reach Edelgard. Professor Byleth had planned to rush down Edelgard and pick off the forces surrounding her with magic as this encroached onto their cavalry unit. It was a dangerous move, but Ferdinand was not one to turn down duty. 

“I act out of necessity, the Churchhas forced my hand! It’s a pity you are too simple minded to see that!” 

Ferdinand turns sharply to his left and sees her. Clad in her flame emperor armour stood Edelgard, the one woman responsible for this battle. Ferdinand didn’t waste any time in pointing his lance at her. It was a simple gesture, telling his old friend that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if needed. But his voice and face betrayed his message. He didn’t want to do this. 

Edelgard, by contrast, seemed indifferent to him, like he was simply an ant crawling out of the dirt. But that didn’t matter anymore. His country did, and Edelgard was going to break it under the weight of her war. 

“How could you say that!?” Ferdinand said in a hurt tone. “You’ve declared war Edelgard, war! That is not something to be taken lightly. The Empire can’t sustain it, and the Church doesn’t deserve it!”

“If you really believe the church is inoccent in all of this, then you truly are as stupid as you seem Ferdinand!” 

“Enough of this Edelgard!” Ferdinand cried out. “I do not wish to play these games with you.” 

“Don’t flatter yourself Ferdinand” Edelgard said with fire in her eyes. “You aren’t even a player” 

  
  


That was the stray that broke the camels back. She has gone insane, that was the only answer. That, or she had always been like this, and he just never noticed it until now. She wasn’t seeing or hearing him, she was just seeing an end. To her, all of this didn’t matter, only her ending did. 

Then perhaps that was where they differed. Ferdinand cared immensely about what was to happen before her end goal was realized, it was how he judged her goals merit. He cared about the road to her destination, whilst she didn’t even bother to give it a second glance.

  
  


“It is my duty as the son of Duke Aegir to right this wrong you’ve committed Edelgard! Forgive me, but it is time you finally taste the bitterness of defeat!” 

Ferdinand’s horse charged forward, and he gripped his lance so tight his knuckles became white. 

Edelgard readied her axe and stared her old friend deep in his eyes, unflinching and unwavering. 

“It is a taste you know all too well Ferdinand, and it is one you will experience once again!”

Their weapons clashed as hard as their ideals did, perhaps even more so. 

And off in the distance, Byleth could be seen watching the fight from above, pride swelling up for the victor. 


End file.
